Spanish Love/Gypsy Love: One is cute and the other one involves Pickpocketing

In Spain, like most of the rest of Europe, St Valentine's Day (or Dia de San Valentin) isn't a big deal. Still, for someone like me who puts significant weight on particular days (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc.), it is very easy to notice any Valentines-y things. Cute old couples walking in the park, guys carrying bouquets of roses home, Valentine's Day menus at various restaurants (please note I was in Granada at this time with some awesome chicas having a blast!)

But the weird thing was that it wasn't necessarily that all the couples got cuter on Valentine's Day, it's just that I noticed it more. Spanish couples are very into PDA (or PDLA, as it were, Public Displays of Lustful Affection), and while some Americans may label Spanish men as slightly effeminate (and it is, I must admit, often a correct stereotype), the beauty is that the relationships are very passionate, very strong.

For example: In my salsa class there is a 45-50 year old man who is secretly taking the class so he can eventually surprise his wife and take her dancing. He's one of my favorite partners because although he is probably one of the worst dancers in the class, he takes on somewhat of a fatherly role, and it's extremely easy to get along with him. (This is NOT true for half the men in my class, who either try to stare into my eyes while dancing or, more recently, attempt to awkwardly massage/molest my hands while dancing) And he's just one of the instances of insanely adorable men who seem like they would do anything for their wives/girlfriends, even if it comes at a personal sacrifice. (There are a lot of other examples of this I could write about in Spain, but I've already catalogued most of them in my journal ;))

So here are the three most prevalent photos from my Valentines Day weekend (ie not super Granada-sightseeing focused). Please note two of them are Valentine's-y and the third has a story of a thieving gypsy woman.

A poem outside a restaurant near the sketch hostel. It's from a relatively unheard of Argentinean poet (contemporary), and loosely translate (if I mess up please fix it!) it means:

To lost love
and found love
to that which is blind
and resisting
To that which is only of one
and that which is shared
To the love that
makes you (fall) in love
"Regalole ecologia" (= "give it ecologically?")

It's always nice to have a Valentine ;)

Kara bought me a rose before I left to go back (and before the group of American girls celebrated with coffee and ice cream!). I received many envious looks riding back on the bus.

And while we may not have had Valentine's of the male variety, I think we did ok, considering how many regalos we received (and bebidas!) between 10pm and 7am the night before...

NOW ITS TIME FOR MY GYPSY THIEF STORY!!!

So, just so everyone knows, traveling and staying in a hostel by yourself is probably not the best idea if you are a girl. And I knew that and decided to be adventurous anyway.

But I didn't think I would have problems walking around Granada, especially when not a lot of people were out (it SNOWED on Saturday). After buying some postcards from a shop in the center of town I headed to the Cathedral but on the way a woman (a Gypsy but dressed like me, which is I guess is now standard?) shoved an evergreen sprig (seen below) in my hand and said quickly (this is all in Spanish but I'll translate!) "A gift! It's tradition to give you a gift near the Cathedral! Do you understand me?" (I confusedly nod yes.) "Give me your hand!" (At which point she GRABS my hand and starts reading it) "Oh, this is good, you will live long and have lots of money! And two sons, you will have two handsome sons, smart and strong. Also lots of love, there is some handsome man somewhere who loves you very much. OTHER HAND!" (Grabs my other hand) "Ahh, yes, your personality... it's very... erotic... you are a very physical being, who loves very deeply...." (there was other stuff too but like I said, she was talking really fast and using lots of words I didn't understand)

ANYWAY So after reading my palm she looks up and says "Ok, now pay me!" So I reach into my pocket and give her the 1.25 Euros I have in my pocket. At first she refuses (apparently coins are bad luck, she wanted paper money, but I wasn't about to fish out a fiver for 60 seconds of work), argues that I have more money in my purse (I did but lied to her) but then accepts the money. Wasn't till later (like 10 seconds later) I noticed that my purse had 3 zippers undone. I think a kid or another gypsy woman had snuck behind me during the palm reading and tried to steal from me. Too bad my traveler's purse, while VERY tourist-y, is almost impossible to steal from (you have to open three specific zippers to get anything of value), the only thing the pickpocket would've had access to was my keys...

SOMEONE TRIED TO PICKPOCKET FROM ME AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID SPRIG.

(in all fairness at least she didn't gypsy curse me for paying her in coins)

Granada: Alhambra, Catedral, and TAPAS

SO for some reason blogger is freaking out and I think it's going to publish this all as a hyperlink. Sometimes technology FAILS, even for a MIS major :(

Granada is located in Andalucia, Spain, the Southern region, which, incidentally, currently has an unemployment rate of 26.6%, the lowest in the nation. It has gypsies, tapas, lots of Arabic influence, and flamenco.

Tapas = appetizers that you receive when you order wine, beer or a cocktail (and maybe refrescos? I dunno, I've never tried). They are big enough to replace your food for the weekend... especially when random men in Granada are so proactive in paying for everything!

This is the sketch alley my hostel was in. It was actually a really cool place, with (for the most part) really cool and international people staying there. First time in a hostel, which was fun but I think it would've been better with other people...

I got to meet up with THESE beautiful ladies, all girls at Gonzaga with me, and they showed me around the town and took me out at night. AND the girl on the far left? She's responsible for my 37 minutes of sleep on Saturday night and the current state of my socks (from walking 2+miles in them at 7am to get KEBABS). (Sweetest Valentine's dates a girl abroad could ask for ;))

The Cathedral in Granada! Beautiful, lots of great art, perfect place for some introspection. Also gypsies outside, so watch your purse.

Alhambra! This is what it looks like from the city area. IF YOU GO: your ticket will have a designated time slot. This is NOT the time you enter Alhambra, this is the time you must enter the Nasrid Palace a 20 minute walk INSIDE Alhambra. And they won't let you in after that, no matter how much you beg.

This is just one of the pictures from the Arabic ruins at Alhambra... those are rooms! Towards the entrance and not actually one of the most popular sights, but oh well :)

A grammatically wowzer sign inside the Church at Alhambra.

I'm going to do a blog specifically on the Valentine's Day/gypsy thief part of the trip here in a sec ;)

The Blah Blah Blahs of Katie A's Mind: Ignorance does NOT = Patriotism

So this is a thought I blatantly stole from my friend (don't worry, he's been notified that I am a thought stealer) :

"You know what's weird? The people who are most sure and set in their beliefs that the US is the best nation are usually the ones who've never left the country."

Well put, gentleman friend.

Don't get me wrong, I love the States. I love Seattle, I love the diversity, I love the fact that we tip our waitresses (this note has already been mentioned in my Tole-DOH! blog) and I'm completely infatuated with Obama. Most of the time. And we have the best movies/TV shows/music around. (most of the rest of the world will agree with me on this last bit. Except maybe India and their Bollywood, but that's on a whole different level.)

But as someone who loves to travel and stay for periods of time in other countries (I mean more than spending a week in a resort in Mexico), I am completely bewildered by people who haven't spent much time out of the States who are convinced that our nation is so superior to others. Because I've noticed some places where we are seriously duhduhduh, and if people don't leave the US they don't even have the capacity to notice the duhduhduh-ness.

For example (the best one I have, brace yourselves): I watched the movie "Seven Pounds" with my host mom the other day. (Please note my host mom is like 30, she's totally amazing and great fun to live with.) I won't ruin the movie, but I will say that it has Will Smith and has a theme surrounding organ transplants.

And my host mom was having problems comprehending why on Earth the supporting character, played by Rosario Dawson (Lord knows what her name is, I was watching it in Spanish and struggling to keep up with the plot), who is in desperate need of a heart transplant, was so concerned with her finances when she already had so much to worry about re: her health. My host mom pointed out that this woman shouldn't have to be building a budget just to ensure her survival.

And you know what? That is a good point. Like a really good point. And it took me leaving the States to see that. When I left the States I was pretty moderate on the whole universal healthcare/ healthcare reform issue. (Please note: in my case, as in so many cases, "moderate" meant I had yet to form an actual opinion.) Now I'm kind of disappointed that the States is so far behind everyone else in adopting healthcare for all. (Coming out of the closet: I support universal healthcare.)

I don't necessarily see myself as a super worldly person but I like to think I appreciate other cultures for what they have to offer. And the way I see it is unless you at least travel to other countries, even if you can't be there for an extended period, and appreciate them for what they have to offer (and sometimes, in which ways they are superior), then you really have no room to talk about how much better the US is than everywhere else. I still like the US the best, but at least I have something to compare it to. Ignorance is NOT the same thing as patriotism.

Tole-DOH! Thoughts on torture, and customer service reminiscent of torture

Completely impromptu trip to Toledo yesterday. Spent a good part of the time "lost", which is a fun way to see the non-touristy areas. The typical tourist destinations incl. the Cathedral (7 Euros, but apparently worth it? I must go back) and the Alcazar (Castle, closed for renovation). Still, there was a TORTURE EXHIBIT. I think I sincerely scared the crap out of the guys I was with in my excitement to see this exhibit, but the messed up minds of the Spanish Inquisition and the punishments they gave... fascinating. AND HORRIBLE.

Random dancing and music procession we stumbled upon. Great colors, lots of people. Followed by what appeared to be a political protest? Couldn't understand the chanting going on.

Alcazar (Castle) of Toledo. Beautiful. Closed for renovation. Sigh.

Smiling from inside the nail-barrel box thing at the Torture Exhibit. Don't worry, it's fake. Plastic-y.

But 3/4ths of the stuff at the exhibit were REAL. Including a seriously messed up chastity belt. See my FB pics for more pics at this exhibit.

Also. Random side note: We went to a restaurant that had some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. While it sucks that waitresses/waiters in the States often have to rely on tips to get by, at least it encourages prompt service. You know what "tip" stands for? "To insure promptness." Fail, Toledo restaurant.

El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen

USAC, due in part to the fact that it is one of the least expensive programs out there, does not have many excursions as part of the package. In fact, we have two. And one of them was to El Escorial and the Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). And since the basilica at the Valle was closed for renovation, the second half was a little half assed... but still fun :)

El Escorial is another town keeping some of its historial beauty. We visited the castle/monastery set up for the King Philip II (I think?) for his post-Kingship retirement. While photos are strictly forbidden (and they DO get touchy about this), some people, myself included, got pics of the highlights. This is mainly the burial area and the library.

Burial chamber at the monastery/alcazar of el Escorial that we are NOT allowed to take a pic of (well done, Kenny, well done). On the left are the kings, on the right are their queen counterparts (but ONLY if they were the mother to bear a successor). Almost cute that they were buried with their sweeties, until you realize how many decomposing bodies are surrounding you... ew. but AWESOME.

This is Goya's painting of St. Francis. I got yelled at for taking this picture, but suck on it, mean security guard. I got to study this in my St Francis of Assisi class. And I can tell you exactly what each of those six wings on the seraph on the left represents :)

El Valle de los Caidos (valley of the fallen) is where fallen soldiers of the Spanish Civil War (on both sides) and Franco are buried. We weren't able to go inside, unfortunately, as the basilica was closed for renovation. Still. That's one huge cross, visible from wayyyyyyyyy far away.

Museos

So the last couple hours every day are free to explore the Prado and the Thyssen and the Reina Sofia Museums in Madrid (all around relatively the same area). Unfortunately my lazy butt hadn't been in any of these until friends came and visited from Barcelona and wanted to check them out.

The Reina Sofia has a lot of different types of art expanding across the centuries, so while it's all very interesting it can cause for quick sensory overload.

The Prado, of the two, is the one that I prefer. Lots of Catholic paintings (but hey, it's Spain, so what do you expect?) but it was amazing to see "live" some of the paintings I'm already familiar with. For example, the Prado has a LOT of El Greco and a LOT of Goya.

Here are two paintings I got to see LIVE. ;)

The Third of May- this is something I studied for a week back when I was studying art history in Nantes (as part of the Literature HS curriculum, don't want to sound like an expert or anything...) but the central figure is in white to focus your eye there and to display his innocence, and you can't see the shooters so they are harder to relate to...

I really don't know anything about this painting, save that it's Saturn (called "Saturn") and it depicts him eating one of his children. Essentially it's really gross.